Liar
by Lovingly Insane
Summary: Near respects L more than anyone. L lied to him.     SPOILERS. :


Near was sitting in the corner of the playroom.

He heard the other children, older than he, running around, yelling, and playing with imaginary weapons. He knew he was different. He knew he was different, though he was only four years old, because of his advanced maturity and, of course, inhuman intelligence. He was one of the smartest children at Wammy's House.

Near was sitting in the corner of the playroom, and he was all alone.

His nimble fingers, that had lost their babyish chubbiness long ago, traced the puzzle box curiously. It was plain cardboard, dyed a bright white, and full of little pieces. In very tiny black text in the bottom right corner, it read '1,500 pieces'. Near was very, very curious about this. He'd done all of the other puzzles that were stored in the playroom, but not one of them had such a number of pieces. He wasn't going to attempt it just yet, he'd decided, but kept the box in his lap.

The number of children in the playroom slowly dwindled until Near was the only one left, other than an unresponsive, older, red-haired boy with goggles playing a game on a computer in the corner. After a few hours, even he left, and Near was completely alone.

He sat with the box for a very long time, thinking and twirling a lock of white hair with his index finger. He didn't look up as a certain black-haired boy shuffled in, but he heard the gentle bare-footed steps. He heard the person pause a few feet from the door, and estimated that they were looking at him. He heard the person walk closer, closer, until they were right in front of him. Near finally looked up and saw a very tall, slouching young man, probably around the age of sixteen or seventeen, with a natural but disheveled presence, feathery black hair, and large grey eyes with dark shadows lining them. Near didn't know who this was.

"That's him." Wammy himself stood in the doorway, his quiet, musical voice ringing throughout the room. The strange young man looked over his shoulder and nodded gently before sitting in front of Near. He sat oddly, Near noticed, in more of a squat or crouch than an actual seated position. He stared intently into the little boy's identical grey eyes, as if reading him.

"Hello," he said, his voice soft but monotone.

"Hello," Near replied. He stared, blinked, and looked back down at his box. He didn't flinch as L carefully pulled it from his fingers and dumped the shards out on the ground. He put the wooden slab that had held the pieces down at started flipping the pieces to the right side. Near automatically assisted him in this, and they finished in less than two minutes. They then began the puzzle. One third, one fourth, one half, three fourths, seven eighths, and they were done. The puzzle was completely white, but this didn't bother Near and it didn't seem to bother the man. The young man pulled a black permanent marker from his pocket and took the completed puzzle. In the top left corner, he scribbled out an 'L' in a fancy calligraphic script. Near saw this and looked up.

"You are L, I suppose?" Near whispered.

L smiled at the child's vocabulary and nodded. "And you're Near, aren't you?"

The child nodded, his expression not changing, though he was shocked that the great L that he'd heard so much about knew who he was.

"I've heard much about you," L said. "You're very smart, but you don't play with the other kids often, do you?"

"They don't like me because they don't understand me," said Near, twirling his hair. "I feel we're very different."

"I agree. You are very different, and I think one day you may be my successor," L said, grinning.

"Really?" Near's eyes widened this time, the first emotion he'd shown in a very long time.

"I've chosen two people, and you are one of them."

Near whispered, "You chose A before, though."

"That's right," L said, nodding. He wasn't surprised that the boy knew about A. _Everyone_ knew about the previous successor that had committed suicide. "But now I'm choosing you."

"Who is the other person?"

"Mello. You know who that is, don't you?"

Near scrunched his nose. "He doesn't enjoy my company. He dislikes me more than the other children."

L chuckled. "That's because you're competition."

"I suppose." Near looked up at L again, his eyes so mature and intelligent, yet so innocent. "Are you going to stay at Wammy's, L?"

"I have work," he muttered, "but I'm trying to visit more." Near looked troubled by this. "What's wrong, little one?"

Surprisingly, Near flung his arms around L and buried his tiny head into his neck. "I don't want you to go."

L was shocked at the sudden physical contact, but relaxed, smiled, and wrapped his long, thin arms around the boy. "It's alright, Near. I'll always come back."

.:…:…:.

"L is dead."

Near continued to snap the pieces of his favorite, most treasured puzzle. It was white, with a black 'L' in the corner.

Later that night, as tears streamed down his pale cheeks, he traced the aged, white puzzled box, staining it with fat drops. He looked at the L on the puzzle and with his wet finger, wrote the rest of the word.

_**L**__ I A R_


End file.
